paradise in plain sight

September 24th, 2018

Gravity
by Donna Hilbert

What binds me to this earth
are the hands of my children,
as I hold my mother
holding her mother
back to the mother
who begat us all.
This is gravity.
This is why we call the earth Mother,
why all rising is a miracle.

The pain in my hip, spring blooming in my garden all over the place, the women in the workshop I facilitate, the love, the caring, the compassion that floats among us, my children, my father, my old and alone aunt, all that is here now and I know it won’t last.

Comment by florencia — September 25, 2018 @ 2:56 am

What brings me back to earth, well actually holds me to the earth is the vast amount of abundance in my life that doesn’t have a $ attached to it: friends, family, nature, birds, flowers, the moon, the sun, the stars, neighbors, my health, my breath. I am blessed!

Yoga and meditation, my zafu in the corner. The child who still sleeps next to me, and the one who sleeps alone. The list of obligations necessitated by a life meant to be lived, and used to help others live; obligations that follow me as I try to escape them reminding me there is no other way.
Looking forward to seeing you, to bring me back.

i’m brought back to earth, and at the same time connected to infinity when i’m with my 5 year old grandson, teaching him about acorns, and plants and birds and hummingbirds and crystals. We dig in the dirt and plant things. we sit very quietly outside the kitchen door and wait for the birds to visit. Like me, he loves to lay in the grass and watch the sky and he has no fear of thunder or lightning.

Comment by Laura — September 25, 2018 @ 8:09 am

Just remembering to step outside, take a conscious breath, and look and listen to the world around me.

loss—
each time it happens I become fully present, even when I wish I weren’t.

it’s inescapable.

Comment by MJ — September 26, 2018 @ 4:30 pm

To answer your gravity question: sometimes it’s a simple phrase like “I am home,” an inspiring phrase by Thich Naht Hanh; other times it’s “just this one breath” as I meditate. One thing I’ve discovered (despite my perfectionism) is there’s no recipe for “gravity.” Music also helps.

Comment by Keith Roper — September 26, 2018 @ 4:42 pm

Always bound to this earth –
the mother who says
all her created beings have
the right to sit on their spot
to touch the earth
with the weight of gravity …
in the Stillness
binding all, holding all
whole and complete
before all rights
All have the right to be here.
Binder and birther of all beings
in solidarity, I hold the hand
of my child
who has the right to be Here.

Comment by Virginia Lonsdale — September 27, 2018 @ 4:19 pm

Smelling the hair of my boys. All three of them.

Comment by Ben Ming — September 28, 2018 @ 11:27 am

Remembering that my soul does indeed live within me and chose to experience a physical form of life through me.

Comment by Heather — October 7, 2018 @ 5:40 am

Cooking.
Checking what I have in the fridge,
Choosing what to eat,
chopping the vegetables, choosing the herbs and flavours
I always try to maximise the amount of vegetables, the flavours, It really is a creative moment that completely envelops me and leaves me with no room to think of anything else.
And I think cooking well is an act of love. I think of the people I will be feeding and I hope they will be nourished and feel cared for by my cooking. Cooking soup is my favourite.

Comment by Simone — October 11, 2018 @ 5:56 am

A kitty sleeping on a spot of warming sun. Mist from Angel Falls on my face. Hiking up to Sharp Top Mountain. A comforting, warm hand on tired shoulders.